NBA top draft pick Davis joins the injured list of Olympic team

Mike Segar, Reuters

Mike Segar, Reuters

Larry Fine

(Reuters) - The U.S. Olympic basketball team, hit by a recent rash of injuries, may have suffered another blow after NBA top draft pick Anthony Davis sustained a sprained ankle, the New Orleans Hornets said on Monday.

Davis, the U.S. college player of the year and Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four during Kentucky's march to the national championship, hurt himself during a workout at the Hornets team facility on Sunday, New Orleans said.

"His status to resume workouts is day to day," New Orleans said in a statement. "An evaluation of his availability to practise with Team USA will be made later in the week."

Last week, Dwyane Wade (knee surgery) and Chris Bosh (abdominal injury) of the National Basketball Association champion Miami Heat withdrew from consideration for the team.

The U.S. team had already been hit by injuries to several leading candidates for the squad, including Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

The withdrawals of Wade and Bosh had left 16 players in the roster pool for 12 spots on the U.S. team, down from an initial pool of 20.

While the surplus of talent has dwindled for the 2008 Olympic champions, they still will be counted as favorites in the London tournament with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin among the names still on the team list.